Undebatable all-time best boxers by division.

[JCS]

I was thinking earlier...

Ricardo Lopez has to be #1 as the best in his division without argument. Is there a single argument that one can make to suggest he is not the best at 105?

But who is 2nd, who is 3rd? Galaxy at 115? Calzaghe at 168? How many are there on this list?

[Expug]

The question being which fighter at any division being inarguably the best? I believe that’s the topic. If so , it’s a good question. Duran at lightweight, ezzard charles at light heavyweight, Robinson at welterweight. Specifically at those weights. Im sure there’s disagreement.

[JCS]

The question being which fighter at any division being inarguably the best? I believe that’s the topic. If so , it’s a good question. Duran at lightweight, ezzard charles at light heavyweight, Robinson at welterweight. Specifically at those weights. Im sure there’s disagreement.

You got it... Was unsure how exactly to word it...

[Expug]

The question being which fighter at any division being inarguably the best? I believe that’s the topic. If so , it’s a good question. Duran at lightweight, ezzard charles at light heavyweight, Robinson at welterweight. Specifically at those weights. Im sure there’s disagreement.

You got it... Was unsure how exactly to word it...

Interesting topic. It’s not so easy either to come up with a lot of names. Maybe also Holyfield at cruiser.

[p4p1]

The question being which fighter at any division being inarguably the best? I believe that’s the topic. If so , it’s a good question. Duran at lightweight, ezzard charles at light heavyweight, Robinson at welterweight. Specifically at those weights. Im sure there’s disagreement.

You got it... Was unsure how exactly to word it...

Interesting topic. It’s not so easy either to come up with a lot of names. Maybe also Holyfield at cruiser.

Usyk may have overtaken him now.

[margaret thatcher]

You got it... Was unsure how exactly to word it...

Interesting topic. It’s not so easy either to come up with a lot of names. Maybe also Holyfield at cruiser.

Usyk may have overtaken him now.

although alp ranks james toney's cruiser career higher than usyk's

[Seamus]

Willie Pep at Featherweight.

[p4p1]

Interesting topic. It’s not so easy either to come up with a lot of names. Maybe also Holyfield at cruiser.

Usyk may have overtaken him now.

although alp ranks james toney's cruiser career higher than usyk's

Alp is allowed to be as wrong as he likes.

[DrDuke]

Usyk may have overtaken him now.

although alp ranks james toney's cruiser career higher than usyk's

Alp is allowed to be as wrong as he likes.

That's correct, but it's ridiculous, how he's keeping silent on this subject, while him being wrong is getting more and more obvious.

[bwu]

Very interesting topic, but it may be impossible to reach consensus. I direct your attention to Wilfredo Gomez at 122 lbs. I'm not sure any champion was ever as dominant in any division. 18-0, 18 KOs in title bouts. He beat former, reigning and future titlists (though not all the competition was top flight). His defense against Lupe Pintor was an all-time classic. There were no real controversies about any of his wins. Thirty years ago there's no question he's the top man. But I'm not sure that he beats Erik Morales, Marcos Antonio Barrera or Manny Pacquaio.

[giacomino]

Gomez has probably as good a case as any fighter to all-time best in a division, IMO

[Ambling Alp II]

Agree with that. Gomez was very dominant at that weight class.
In many cases, a guy just fights in a certain weight class and moves on to a higher weight class. It used to be that the Jr weights did not have the prestige as the 8 main classes. As a result, a guy that may have gone down as the All-Time best at a particular weight class does not stat there long enough.

Anyway, agree that Lopez, Galaxy, Gomez and Calzaghe have to be the best at their weight classes. Will be interesting if anyone disputes those.
Of course anything is debatable. there are other weight classes which I (and some others) have no doubt who was the best but others disagree. And others that some people think are clearly the best and I (and some others) disagree with. For example, there are people that think Charles is a no-brainer at 175. Others think its Moore, Tunney, Spinks, or Langford.

[SteveO]

Prime Muhammad Ali at heavyweight.
Oleksandr Usyk at cruiserweight.

[margaret thatcher]

Of course anything is debatable. there are other weight classes which I (and some others) have no doubt who was the best but others disagree. And others that some people think are clearly the best and I (and some others) disagree with. For example, there are people that think Charles is a no-brainer at 175. Others think its Moore, Tunney, Spinks, or Langford.

true, like yourself having james toney's cruiser career above usyks, always at least 1 oddball opinion lurking out there, so very little is truly undebatable. but we all understand what op's point is , the least debated

[NazNaci1]

Monzon at MW, but can be contested, I guess.

McCallum @ LMW, maybe.

[Expug]

When I think 140 pounds best, Aaron Pryor jumps out.

[JCS]

Does Wilde have much competition at 112? Is Jofre clearly the man at 118? How about Robinson at 147?


So far.. sounds like... we have some solid candidates...

105 - Lopez
115 - Galaxy
168 - Calzaghe
126 - Pep
122 - Gomez

Agree/disagree with the list and order?

[margaret thatcher]

good suggestions. although i might go with ward over calzaghe tbh....

[Ezzard]

Interesting calls on the Jr divisions.

I consider the following undebatable

175 - Charles
160 - Greb
147 - Robinson

I like alternative views on all aspects of the sport. But arguing against the above does make my eyes roll. I imagine some people have an axe to grind...

[Ambling Alp II]

I don't know why that would make your eyes roll.
At 160, it usually goes down to Greb, Robinson, Monzon, and Hagler. I don't like Hagler and Monzon, but it is certainly debatable that either of them or Robinson are the best.

At 175, many people go with Moore. Charles beat him 3x, but Moore still has an argument. You can make a decent argument for Tunney as well. I go with Spinks. He dominated a strong era, which almost never happens.

160 and 175 are two of the most debatable weight classes.

[elmersalsa]

Roberto Duran at lightweight. One of the most dominant title reigns that I have ever seen in my lifetime.

[BroughtonRulesRefuge]

- Brian Mitchell forced out of S Africa because of International boycotts was not only the away fighter vs the popular hometown fighter as a hated South African.

Yet spectacular career in spite of being one of the quietist ever. Not saying he could beat every superfeather and Lightweight in history, but might well have the best win/loss record in a fantasy matchup come true.

Career Overview
Brian Mitchell, often referred to as The Road Warrior, was a world champion boxer at super featherweight as recognized by both the WBA and IBF. He was forced to fight largely outside of his native South Africa due to a ban against the country by the major sanctioning bodies over its apartheid policies and racial segregation. Thus, in order to defend his title he had to travel abroad.

In his seventh professional bout, Mitchell suffered the first and only loss of his career against Jacob "Dancing Shoes" Morake (15-6-2). The two would meet three more time with Mitchell winning a pair of unanimous decisions and scoring a TKO victory in their final meeting. It was following this fourth meeting that Morake died from injuries sustained in the bout.

After winning the WBA Title in 1986 from Alfredo Layne, Mitchell would go on to defend it twelve times in five years. In 1991, he went to the United States and met Tony Lopez to unify the WBA and IBF Titles. Their first crowd-pleasing bout ended in a draw. In order to secure a rematch with Lopez, Mitchell was forced to sacrifice his WBA belt, but earned the IBF title via unanimous decision. Following the victory, he retired from the ring for three years before returning for two bouts against moderate competition.

The man, who some have argued is the greatest South African boxer of all time, retired with a career record of 45-1-3 (21 KOs) and through rematches became one of the few champions to beat everyone they faced.

Upon retirement, Mitchell became a successful boxing trainer and guided at least two boxers to world titles, including Namibian Harry Simon and South African Cassius Baloyi. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2009. [1] [2]

Career Factoids
Has a record of 12-0-2 (5 KO) in World Title fights.
Has a record of 3-0-1 (1 KO) against former or current world titlists:
Won against Alfredo Layne, Daniel Londas, Tony Lopez.
Drew with Tony Lopez.

[NazNaci1]

Mitchell was the ultimate road warrior and a fine fighter.

I remember his fight with the then unbeaten Jim McDonnell. Brian's body punching, that night, was something else and he was a deserved winner.

A great fighter.

[Jeff_lacy_ko]

Dominance in division seems to be criteria

Ward or calzaghe

Holyfield at cruiser for me
Joe louis hw

[Ambling Alp II]

No way I agree with you on the last one.